


I'm Batman

by Switch842



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-09 18:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16455434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Switch842/pseuds/Switch842
Summary: It’s Halloween. The kids throw a party at the dojo. What’s Johnny going to do?





	I'm Batman

**Author's Note:**

> This is fluff. It's so fluffy, I don't even know what to do with myself. But have some Halloween fun!
> 
> Also, I’ve pretty much hand-waved the end of season 1 for this. Basically, the last 5 minutes didn’t happen and Miguel didn’t turn into an asshole.

“Sensei,” Miguel began after class. “Can we have a Halloween party here?”

Johnny just shrugged. “Sure, I guess,” he replied.

“Awesome! Hawk’s got this portable projector so we’re gonna watch horror movies and eat chocolate and candy and popcorn. It’s gonna be so good.”

“Sounds exciting,” Johnny said drily as he locked the door to the dojo.

“Aisha’s never seen any of the classics like Scream or The Blair Witch Project so –“

“Wait. Hold on,” Johnny interrupted. “Those are the movies you consider ‘classics’?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Okay, no. If you’re gonna do this, you’re gonna do it right. Get Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. Those movies are classics.”

“But those movies are so old.”

Johnny just stared at Miguel with a flat look on his face.

“Sorry, Sensei,” Miguel said, dropping his eyes to the ground.

“Whatever. I’ll bring the movies; you bring the snacks.”

\--------------------------------------------- 

A few days later, Johnny was driving home from the dojo with Miguel. It was still about a week until Halloween, but Johnny had to admit he was kind of looking forward to their little party. At least it meant he wouldn’t have to put up with his doorbell ringing all night with annoying trick or treaters.

“Do you have your costume ready for the party?” Miguel asked.

“I’m an adult, Miguel. I don’t do costumes,” Johnny replied.

“But, Sensei, you have to! Everyone is dressing up. Do you want your skeleton suit back?”

“No. You can keep that. It’s fine. Why do I have to dress up to sit around and watch movies?”

“Because it’s a Halloween party! It’s what you do!”

Johnny just sighed. He knew Miguel would never let this go. The kid was like a dog with a bone once he latched on to an idea.

“I’ll see what I have in my closet,” he finally relented.

“My yaya could make you something.”

Johnny just arched an eyebrow at Miguel remembering last year’s costume debacle.

“It’ll turn out better than that, I promise.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Whatever you want!” Miguel exclaimed. “A pirate or a mummy or…or a superhero!”

“I’ll think about it,” Johnny said as he pulled into his parking spot.

“Awesome! It’ll be great. I promise.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Johnny unlocked the door to this apartment, stopped by the kitchen to grab a beer, and headed back to his bedroom. He stripped off his gi and pulled on a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt before digging through the back of his closet for an old box. It had once held work boots, but now contained one of the few happy memories from his childhood – comic books. Batman. Superman. Green Lantern. All the Justice League were there. He remembered one year when he was about eight, he and all his friends dressed up as a group for Halloween. He was Superman, of course. He was still happy then; still thought life had good things in store for him. These days, he definitely identified more with Batman. 

Hmm. Maybe…

An idea was developing, but he needed to look into some things first. He grabbed the laptop Miguel had convinced him to get a few months back and pulled up the internet. What was that website Miguel had mentioned? Oh, right. Amazon period cee oh em. According to Miguel, anything you could possibly want was on there. At the top, there was a blank space where he typed “Batman” and clicked the little magnifying glass icon.

It took a minute but the screen was then filled with every kind of Batman-related paraphernalia he could possibly want. As he looked over the results, he began to think about what he could do. There were decorations and paper goods. Costumes and accessories. Wall hangings and toys. Images were forming in his head about how to go all out for his kids. They had done even better than he had hoped at the tournament back in the spring, and while he was sure they had celebrated on their own, Johnny hadn’t really done anything for them.

He clicked on a whole bunch of things. Whatever struck his fancy as he scrolled through the pages. He ended up spending way too much money, but the kids deserved it. Even if it took all day, this was something he could do for them. Maybe he didn’t need to do it alone, though. There was someone who might be willing to help. If she had the time. He kept adding things to buy while he waited, even finding DVDs of the movies he wanted to show the kids.

He finally heard Carmen arrive home several hours later and he went to meet her outside.

“Hey,” he said.

“Good evening,” she replied. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yeah. Everything’s great. I just, uh, I was wondering if you could maybe help me with something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

“So, the kids are going to have a little Halloween party at the dojo next week after school and I had this idea,” Johnny started. Then stopped. This was a dumb idea. What had he been thinking? This was stupid. “I… never mind. It’s dumb. I’m sorry.”

“No,” Carmen said, reaching out as he turned back to his apartment. “I’m sure it’s not a dumb idea. You can tell me. And if it really is a dumb idea, I’ll let you know.”

Johnny laughed a little at that. He believed her, too. She had never had any trouble calling Johnny on his shit.

“I, uh, I wanted to turn the dojo into the Batcave.”

He just stood there and waited for her to respond and when she didn’t he began to worry.

“See? It’s dumb—“.

“No!” Carmen exclaimed with a laugh. “No, it’s not. It’s a wonderful idea! Oh, they’ll love that so much. Now, what do you need?”

He talked her through his idea and eventually, she invited him in for coffee as they discussed what would need to be done. She had some ideas that would make it even better than what Johnny had been thinking. Rosa eventually joined them and also agreed to make a cape for Johnny. Maybe he could pull this off after all.

\--------------------------------------------- 

It was finally Halloween. Johnny and Carmen drove to the dojo early in the morning to start decorating. They had limited time because Carmen had to get to her shift at the hospital. Johnny had been so glad when she had agreed. He could probably have done it by himself, but it wouldn't have worked half as well as it would with her help. She had seen the good Johnny had done for Miguel, and she wanted to be as big a part of planning his Halloween surprise as she could. Rosa, too, had been eager to chip in when they told her the plans.

Working together, they hung black paper over the windows to block out as much light as they could. They hung bats from the ceiling and plastic sheets of cityscapes over the walls. The final piece was the large Batsignal on the back wall of the dojo. Johnny and Carmen had made it by hand over the last couple days when they had time. He was quite proud of what they had managed to do.

“Thanks for your help,” Johnny said as they were wrapping things up.

“You’re welcome,” Carmen said. “And thank you for everything you’ve done for Miguel.”

“Oh, that’s not…” Johnny trailed off, unsure as to how to respond.

“He hasn’t had many positive male role models in his life. I’m glad he has you.”

That was not what Johnny was expecting at all. Nobody had ever said anything like that about him. Ever. Sure, he was happy with the change he’d seen in his students over the last year. But to think someone else thought he was doing good? He didn’t know how to deal with that kind of praise, so he walked to the other side of the room and fiddled with the paper covering the windows. There was a little gap that needed to be fixed.

“How are things going with Robby?” she asked after a moment of silence.

“Um, he’s good,” Johnny said. “We’ve had dinner a few times, and he might come spend some time over the holidays.”

“That’s great.”

“It’s getting there,” Johnny agreed.

The finished in a companionable silence and, eventually, Carmen had to leave to get to the hospital. Johnny promised there would be lots of pictures for her to look over later. Not from him, of course, but he was sure Miguel and the other kids would document plenty of the evening. She gave him a hug as she left, which he tentatively returned. That was still something he was trying to get used to.

He had several more hours to kill before everyone would arrive for the party, so Johnny ran to the store to get more snacks and drinks for the kids (and himself). Once back at the dojo, he dragged out an old folding table that had been left by the previous tenants and set out the snacks and sodas.

All that was left was his costume.

He pulled the pieces out of his bag and laid them out on his desk. It wasn’t a full on costume as he still wanted to be comfortable lounging around the dojo. He’d found a [shirt](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pC6rDz54AV7FOYidg9_lzUVwqUZiMaL7rJ5MPTRGp1FKxLdpyI1Ty90c7Y6xrbIlk-XR2IgI_9TXwG2UWC7kTFLoGyv68LWH1IG67HXQhuIvOM9N8aeN6-n9QM7Jihk2b06XwY0QV0UCfRHSOrcFWkTyutgdbTbwRqV-1UZrB_hyEbzoXZ88_r5ADar3FVUCvPjN9qC8nFktkoMRl3M4lcn-wtHAcHt1N0FlhkTu-APbbVeXJLlcKiFQwPlAc1kRf0J-q9-2izCGlh1NX3sYE1T61m8NcXZZzLcTA9UZs1g6fp_B8RIdo1eWw0HwM5pRz2D_ao4gC_TQp-1RNMp4uzEPsa5wuKFa_jz8yx4Nb9ofR9er9EEVhvEvWERb_78_M3Ljv068PUOmNIYqmskoF8W4HycGHKiVtBR0ugvOz7Sgkr4oqA58-S7sooO-S7trxH4QR3j6zaMC7PnuihZbdMmC-0TIT-hxYWAgBqyv_cbJkxDcDqmVDz1JSJf4Ptc-_tYkwsb3q07AXkfnevXlDU9pOjW6Ep1im11P5cimSdxdYIOxnY6_f4Y3-umd3X9nGy1a2UtZ7HzeLYJg3s2PMQgLAJTnQxle_jcHJEJeL89Vm4fJh7vdZeEMUG6ZU3k5FFYOGRxMGvTLma6nTOFQS_F7gdBvKnY=s522-no) that was screen printed with the costume design on it. He’d bought it and then realized he would need leggings to go with it. He had rolled his eyes at himself because he did not do leggings. But, this was for Halloween and maybe if he found the right ones, he could wear them when he went running or something. He did eventually find a pair of [leggings](https://smile.amazon.com/KONGDE-Compression-Tights-Baselayer-Legging/dp/B07GTW95XR/ref=sr_1_23?ie=UTF8&qid=1540168391&sr=8-23&keywords=men%27s%2Brunning%2Bleggings&th=1) that were made for running rather than fashion. They were mostly black with some gray in them and seemed like they would go well with the shirt. Those pieces paired with the cape Rosa had made and old black hi-top sneakers completed his costume. He had thought about a mask, but it would just annoy him more than anything.

He then settled in to do some paperwork and pay some bills he’d been putting off. All the boring but necessary stuff that he hadn’t really thought about before reopening Cobra Kai. He grabbed a Coors from his fridge and made his way through the pile on his desk.

Once all the work had been completed, he rubbed his eyes and looked up at the clock. School had ended for the day and the kids would be on their way. Time for Johnny to change and finish the set-up in the dojo.

He switched off the overhead lights and turned on the string lights he had hung up earlier. There were also two small rotating spotlights, like the kind you would find in dance clubs. They ran across the walls and gave the impression of searchlights combing over the city. Overall, the effect was pretty cool. Carmen had also found a CD with the soundtrack to the original Tim Burton Batman movie with Michael Keaton. The music combined with the lights really helped complete the transformation.

When he heard the first car pull up, he stood in front of the door with his arms crossed and waited.

Miguel was first through the door and stopped short when he took in the sight before him. Those that followed ran straight into him and, had this been a sitcom, Johnny was sure the laugh track would be going wild.

“Sensei?” Miguel asked as he moved out of the way to let the others in.

“There is no Sensei today,” Johnny replied. “I’m Batman.”

The cheer and laughter from his students as they ran into the dojo and looked around at everything made it all worthwhile.

“This is amazing!” Aisha shouted. “Did you do all this?”

“Miguel’s mom helped, too,” Johnny said.

“Ooooo,” the kids all teased while Hawk elbowed Miguel.

“Come on, guys,” Johnny said. “She just helped get all this hung up. That’s all.”

Miguel caught Johnny’s eyes as the rest of the students continued their exploration of the room. The little smile Miguel gave him made Johnny think that maybe all this stuff happening with Carmen could be something good for both of them.

\--------------------------------------------- 

Hours later and they were on their third movie. Johnny was sitting on the floor, surrounded by his students. They had started with Halloween before forcing Johnny to watch Scream, which, all things considered, wasn’t that bad. He then took them back to his childhood with Friday the 13th. The kids were screaming and laughing and throwing popcorn at the wall. Bert was sitting so close to Johnny he was practically in his lap. The room was a mess and would take a long time to clean up. But, honestly? Johnny wouldn’t change a thing.

THE END


End file.
